We talk about four horizons in our coaching and there is an exercise that we can follow that
will help you in your thinking.
The first horizon is all about where you are today. We can just start to think about what Life
is like today and what you spend your time doing? Perhaps you might think about where
you spend most of your time, and with whom? Perhaps most importantly, what do you do
today, but you want to keep doing in the future?
The second horizon is all about the future. Let’s dream a little and start to think about what
life could be like. What would your ideal world look like? What will you be doing? Where will
you be? Who will you be with? Try to be as detailed as you can and think about the small
things as well. Whilst we are sure that you will have some wonderful dreams your thoughts
might also be influenced by what is most important to you in the world. When we explore this horizon, we can build a picture of your ‘future self’. We can also work with you to explore
your strengths and how these will support you. We can also help you to identify your core
values, and how these will help to bring you contentment, and perhaps happiness.
The third horizon is about experimentation. We can ask the question: what could you start
doing today, that would help you to get to your future sooner? We could see this as an
experiment rather than a future lifetime commitment. So we might reframe the question what could you start trying today…? The transition from the present life to your future, life can be traumatic, if no preparation, or experimentation has occurred. For example, an individual who is fully committed to work, and has had little time for developing their own hobbies, interests or past times may find a redundancy situation, quite traumatic. Whereas, an individual who has developed several interests and new past times, may find the desire to
step into their second life or next phase greater than the desire to continue working.
The fourth horizon is all about the past. No matter who we are we arrive at today with our
past. We find it is worth, at least acknowledging the achievements, and perhaps challenges
that we’ve had in our life so far and considering how these affect the way we think and
behave today. There is a fair chance that we have been moulded by events and have
learned to think in certain ways. A key advantage of working with a coach is to help us think
in different ways, and to see things from different angles. It is worth acknowledging that there is a difference between coaching and counselling or therapy. Our professional coaches are aware of these boundaries and would recommend other professionals should they feel this is appropriate. Whilst our coaching is typically present, and future focused, our past, will always be with us.
We hope this short explanation will help you to start thinking, and perhaps exploring these
four horizons. Our coaching process will explore the horizons with you, and we are assured
that you’re thinking would develop overtime, and beyond our conversations.
If you’re interested in working with us, please do let us know. A simple way to engage is to
book a short chemistry session, which we offer at our expense.
In writing this article, and providing our coaching, we acknowledge the work of Bill Sharpe, and his book, ‘The Three Horizons’ which highly influences our thinking.